New road to cater to influx of tourists going to Pasir Panjang

Picture about 100 tour buses in a day rushing in and out a narrow road of a small village. This is the daily scene in Kampung Pasir Panjang Laut, where the Pasir Panjang Guan Yin temple, a tourist attraction in Lumut, is located.

The Guan Yin temple recently became one of the most popular tourist spots in the Manjung district when the committee spent about RM8mil to bring in many statues of Chinese deities and legendary characters from China about two years ago.

Busy spot: Many tour buses bring visitors to Pasir Panjang Guan Yin temple daily

The temple’s 48-feet-tall (14.63m) tua pek kong stone sculpture, known as the tallest statue of the particular deity in Malaysia, had also drawn people to witness the majestic architecture of the place of worship. With more and more tour groups visiting the temple, the serenity of the Malay village was somehow disrupted.

While visitors enjoyed the grand view of the sculptures and statues, villagers were perturbed by the incessant flow of people and traffic.

The villagers, whose houses were built next to the narrow road, were unhappy with the many tour buses ploughing the road as the road is only slightly wider than the size of a car. They were also worried that the giant vehicles might pose a danger to road users, including children who walked to school and to the village library. Their concern would be a thing of the past as a new road leading straight to the temple has been scheduled to be built soon.

Majestic: The Pasir Panjang Guan Yin temple has become a tourist attraction in Lumut.

It was certainly good news to Kampung Pasir Panjang Laut villagers and the Pasir Panjang Guan Yin temple committee. Lumut MP Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, who made the announcement during a religious event at the temple on Sept 14 said, the Drainage and Irrigation Department had agreed to give up a portion of its reserve land for the construction of the new road.

Kong, who is also Transport Minister, said the Manjung Land Office would draw up the plan for the new road. “The land office will ensure that the road is wide enough for vehicles to access it and not be built too near the entrance of the houses,” he said. He also hoped there would not be any dispute once the new road is completed.

-thestar online.